Healthy Road Trip Eats & Drinks

“Tis the season for hitting the open road. Every summer we take an annual road trip to southern California to visit family and friends. As much as I love getting away for a week or two of relaxation, the actual traveling part can be long and tedious.

With two young boys and a 13+ hour drive, the biggest challenge for me is making sure we eat well. Too many times we’ve relied on gas station and fast food fare. Ugh, gross, I know. With limited food choices on the road, I long ago learned that packing a cooler with snacks and drinks was the way to go. The key is packing things that both mama and kids are excited to eat.

When I was in elementary school, my mom used to freeze the original Capri Suns and we would use them as our “ice pack” in our brown paper lunch bags. We didn’t have insulated bags back in the day. By the time lunch rolled around, our lunch was still cool, and the juice was perfectly cold and ready to drink. I do the same thing with my kids today. Capri Suns have never gone out of style, you know…..

Capri Sun has a new fruit and vegetable juice blend out called Super V. When I freeze it and use it in the cooler as an ice pack, it means I have more space to pack healthy snacks! My kids love to drink the juice when it’s almost defrosted. They love the slushy effect and think it’s a cool and special treat. Since I’m always looking for ways to sneak in some vegetables, it’s a win-win for kids and mama. I feel great about letting them have it, and they genuinely love it.

As much my kids would love to stop at every gas station along the way and pick out some candy or chips to go with their juice, I just can’t do it. Here are a few of my favorite healthier car snack ideas to pack when we hit the open road.

Hard Boiled Eggs and Cheese– Two real protein packed snacks, they’re both easy and virtually no mess. (I peel the eggs before we take off.) I like to pack a small container with coarse salt and pepper for dipping the eggs in. I have to have salt and pepper on a hard boiled egg!

Homemade Trail Car Mix– Equal parts cheddar bunnies and graham cracker bunnies. A large handful of raisins and your favorite nuts and a few semi-sweet chocolate chips. A kid (and parent) friendly snack that is both salty and sweet. I pack it in one big container and bring a few small plastic cups so each kid has their own, and I can control portions. This is a great way to tide my little ones’ bellies over until we stop for dinner.

Low Fat Blueberry Muffins– This is my favorite recipe. With little fat and whole wheat flour, these are loaded with blueberries and flavor. It makes for a great breakfast when we’ve hit the road really early!

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables– Fruit is an obvious choice, and it’s great because it doesn’t take up room in the cooler and the more fruit and vegetables I can get my kids to eat the happier I am!

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What are your favorite healthier snacks to take on road trips? What is your kids favorite Capri Sun flavor?

Happy road tripping!!!

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Whole fruits like bananas and apples are great, of course. We also bring string cheese and beef jerky (I’m counting that as healthy, heh). My son hasn’t had a lot of Capri Sun, but his favorite flavors are usually cherry and grape.

To cut down on the amount of sugar and carbs that my kids have during the school day, I give them flavored sparkling waters made by Syfo. They taste great and have no sugar, sodium, artificial sweeteners or other additives. They’re also made from water purified through reverse osmosis. I know Syfo is in grocery stores here in the Southeast and I think you can order online at http://syfobeverages.com.